Qassimi Kleeja (date-filled cookies)

Name: Qassimi Kleeja (date-filled cookies)
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: Gulf
Ingredients: For the dough:; 3 cups flour; 1 cup warm milk and 1 cup melted butter; 2 tsp dry yeast and 1 tsp sugar; ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp ground mahlab; 2 tsp nigella seeds; For the filling:; 2 cups pitted dates; 1 tbsp ghee; 1 tsp fennel seeds and 1 tsp ground cardamom; For the top:; 1 beaten egg and sesame seeds (optional)

Recipe No.: G-50

Gulf90 minServes 10

Kleeja is a pastry filled with dates, served at Eid and other occasions, and it is attributed to the Qassim region of Najd. A similar sweet is known in Iraq, and no specific date of origin is known for the Qassimi kleeja. Its dough is flavoured with mahlab and nigella seeds.

Ingredients for Qassimi Kleeja

For the dough
3 cupsflour
1 cupwarm milk and 1 cup melted butter
2 tspdry yeast and 1 tsp sugar
½ tspsalt and 1 tsp ground mahlab
2 tspnigella seeds
For the filling
2 cupspitted dates
1 tbspghee
1 tspfennel seeds and 1 tsp ground cardamom
For the top
1beaten egg and sesame seeds (optional)

Method

For the filling: heat the ghee in a pan, add the dates, fennel and cardamom, and stir until the dates soften into a paste; cool.
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in ¼ cup of the warm milk for 5 minutes until active.
Mix the flour with the salt, mahlab and nigella, add the yeast mix, the rest of the milk and the butter and knead a soft dough; rest 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into balls, roll each into a thin rectangle, put a line of filling along its length and roll up.
Cut each roll into 3 cm pieces, arrange on a tray, brush with egg and sprinkle with sesame.
Bake at 180°C for 15 to 20 minutes until golden and serve with Arabic coffee.

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